Making Bill Paying Easier

November 29, 2014

I have never been much good with money.

When I was married I just wasn’t interested in it. I would spend it of course, but I didn’t want to be involved in bill paying, direct debits, savings accounts or ISAs. Spreadsheets and bank statements made my head hurt: no thank you.

But since I’ve become responsible for the household’s budget I have become oddly, well, responsible in the way I spend my money. I SAVE for things, I like to have a financial buffer ‘for a rainy day’ which is a way of thinking I thought I’d never come around to. I spend only what I have, don’t shop unnecessarily and really love the thought of ‘looking after the pennies so the pounds take care of themselves’. I know approximately how much my bills are going out and how much I get paid coming in and I make sure one of these numbers is never ever bigger than the other.

I no longer look at credit cards as ‘free money’ (ahh yes. They should come with a warning to this effect) and am always hunting for ways to save my money or make it work harder for me.

Oh god, I am becoming my mum.

Santander recently carried out a survey and discovered that 26% of households don’t read their utility bills properly, and over a million households don’t open their bills at all! I used to be guilty of this – I was scared to see how much they were! – but now I’m informed and aware of my outgoings the situation is a lot more manageable.

Did you know that Santander’s 1/2/3 current account pays you cashback on your household bills and interest on your balance (at 3% that’s more than many ISAs!)? You’ll earn cashback on eligible Direct Debits (my favourite way to pay bills!) and this is paid monthly straight into your account. Find out how much you can earn with their handy cashback calculator.